The Atlantic, Pacific NW Magazine interview Blackstone about deciding whether to have children

Amy Blackstone, a sociology professor at the University of Maine, spoke with The Atlantic and Seattle Times’ Pacific NW Magazine about deciding whether to have children. Today, about 15 percent of women never have kids, according to The Atlantic. “There are not that many people who, early on, say, ‘I definitely don’t want kids,’” Blackstone said. Even the childless are more likely to start out unsure or assuming they will have kids. It’s only over time that they decide against it, the article states. Blackstone told The Atlantic parents and the childfree are driven by similar desires. For instance, they both seek stronger relationships: For people with kids, it’s the parent-child bond, but for people without, “one of the very common reasons they cite is they value their relationship with their partner, and having a child will shift that relationship.” The Pacific NW Magazine article, “The Mom question: Seattle-area women share their complicated decisions,” quoted Blackstone as saying, “The idea of opting not to have children has entered public consciousness in a way that we have not seen previously in our culture. Parenthood is now thought worthy of a thoughtful choice as opposed to the next thing you do.” Blackstone also spoke with WLBZ (Channel 2) for a report about how women in their 30s are now having more babies than younger women. Blackstone cited societal and economic factors for why more women are waiting to have children. “Parenthood is a very important aspect of people’s identity,” she said. “I mean if you’re going to do it, it should be important to you.”